One Of The Pack
by StarlitSnowWolf
Summary: My newest story, One Of The Pack. Basically, Cody lives in the outskirts of Jasper Park and fairly close to the Western Pack. Turns of events will either allow him to become part of the pack and family, or be the one to cause their downfall.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, this is really a prolouge chapter. Just a short one to get things moving, but the actual chapters will be much longer. I just wanna give you a taste of what it'll be about. Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**4:30 AM, Thursday Morning, Jasper Park, Canada – Cody's POV**_

* * *

I lay on top of cliff overlooking a valley where caribou and moose tend to graze and bed. My Winchester Model 700 lay next to me, propped up on it's bipod and ready to take a shot at the biggest one in the herd. It's eight time zoom scope was sighted for 400 yards, more then enough distance from here to the valley ahead of me. I was laying between to small bushes, camouflage everything to help conceal me.

It was getting to the time of the morning when the caribou would awaken and move out to eat. There was one especially large one that I'd seen when I was scouting last week and I knew exactly what he looked like. Largest rack of the herd, and usually most of the females were right around him. All I had to do was wait for a good enough shot.

Right around 5:00AM, I saw movement from the herd waking up, so I grabbed my rifle and aimed down toward them. I could see plenty of males and females, but not the one I wanted. I waited as the herd came out around an overlook where they were bedded, anxious to claim my prize. I kept scanning the area for him for at least another half hour, but I never saw him yet.

Just as I was about to set my rifle back down, I saw him, his giant antlers coming out from around the bend. I quickly dialed in the zoom a little more for a more clear shot and held my breath, slowing down my heart rate as I aimed in on his heart and lungs. Just as I was putting pressure on the trigger and about to take the shot, three wolves leapt out of the bushes onto him, trying to take him down.

"NO!" I screamed, firing a shot at the ground next to them all. Their attack ceased and they took off running to cover, but there were four now. I was so angry they killed my caribou, I wanted to hunt and kill them! I couldn't claim it now since the rangers would see it was killed by wolves, otherwise I'd get a HUGE fine.

"God damn wolves! I'll kill you all!" I screamed before getting up, grabbing my gun and walking back toward my small cabin a half mile away.

* * *

_**Unknown Wolf's POV**_

* * *

"Candu, Hutch, Garth….On my mark…." I said as we prepared to take down the biggest caribou we'd ever seen. It would easily feed the entire pack, and then some! We all crouched down as low as we could in the bushes, ready to attack when he stopped to graze.

"Ready….Almost…." I whispered, everyone eager to kill it. Right as I was about to say now, I saw a flash of light on top of the cliff overlooking the valley. I looked up at it right as Hutch said "NOW!" They leapt out onto the caribou, sinking their teeth into it's neck and back. A shot rang out as I heard somebody scream, the bullet hitting the ground and bouncing up into Candu's leg.

"GAH! FUCK!" He yelled, falling off the caribou. "EVERYONE RUN! It's a hunter!" I screamed and we all took off running as fast as we could, leaving the dying caribou. There was no way we were sticking around to get it back to the pack, otherwise we'd be killed as well!

We ran as fast as we possibly could to the feeding ground where my parent's den was, the pack leaders. By the time we got to the small slope leading up to the entrance, Candu was panting hard and fast, groaning in pain. "MOM, DAD!" I yelled up to their den as we stopped.

They came out in a hurry and Mom asked "Kate, what happened!?" Candu collapsed to the ground, holding his leg where it was shot. His fur was stained with his own blood, and a lot of it! "Candu was shot! There was a hunter on the cliff above us." I panted as Mom rushed over to him. She was the pack healer, but I knew we'd need someone who could pull a bullet out instead of make weird concoctions.

"Quickly, bring him in!" She said and Hutch picked him up, carrying him inside the den behind her. Right then, I heard someone else running up behind me and turned around to see Humphrey coming. He's one of my best friends, so I knew he'd wanna know what happened.

"Kate, what happened to Candu? You said he was shot!?" He asked, worried. I nodded and said "Right as we attacked a huge caribou. It was a hunter, possibly going after the same one as we were." He sighed and said "Is Candu gonna be okay?"

"I think he will be. It was only his leg, after all." I said, hoping I was right. He nodded and pulled me into a hug, saying "I'm just glad you're okay…." I smiled and returned it, saying "Thank you, Humphrey. I am, don't worry about me. I'm just so mad right now!"

"I don't blame you, I would be, too." He said, chuckling. I giggled a bit and said "So, what've you been doing all morning?" He smiled and said "I was actually still asleep when I heard you screaming for your parents." I let out an amused sigh and said "Yeah, you would be….The whole "Omega" thing…."

"Well, anyway, I'm just glad you're okay." He said, smiling again as was I. "Thank you, Humphrey. I think I'll go inside and relax for a little while now. Still kinda shaken up…." He nodded understandingly and I kissed his cheek before turning around to go inside. Mom was done with Candu by now and he was resting, his leg stained with blood.

"So, how is he?" I asked, laying down near the back of the den. Mom smiled a little and said "He'll be alright. Didn't get hit TOO badly." I nodded and laid my head down, saying "Can you wake me up later? I feel like I need a bit of rest…."

"Sure thing, honey. You've had a scary morning…." She said as I closed my eyes. I started to quickly drift off to sleep, feeling a bit scared still knowing that hunter was out there….somewhere….

* * *

**_Next, the actual first, chapter will be up in a couple days at most. Still working on Life With Lilly, so I gotta try and balance it out now._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Alright, here's the new chapter! Hope you all enjoy it and decide to follow this story as it progresses! I'm pretty excited to be doing a new story, especially this type! Lilly and I've been floating the idea around for a while now and decided we should do it. Basically, it's what might have happened had things been different from Life With Lilly, much different. So, enough rambling now...Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

_**Cody's POV – The Next Morning**_

* * *

I was looking over a map of the area, trying to find a new hunting spot. I found a couple that I was going to scout out today, not too far away, probably a mile or so. I was packing everything I'd need; my gun, ammunition, spotting scope and caribou bait. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and headed out, getting on my small ATV and riding off down to the valley to get where I needed to go.

I was still rather angry about those wolves stealing my kill, but just decided to push it to the side and deal with it later. The ride to my first possible spot was only about twenty minutes. It was a small overlook just above the cliff around the valley, but would be suitable for a good shot. I planted a little bait around the area and set up a game camera before riding off to the next one about a half hour away.

This one was much higher, so I'd have to ditch the ATV and climb a bit, about 75 feet up. I shut it off and went over to the ledges protruding out a little, providing good foot and hand holds. I slowly made my way up, carefully scaling the cliff side. It took about twenty minutes to climb all the way up and it left me gasping for breath.

When I could breathe normally again, I checked out the area with my scope, looking at where the caribou would most likely go to and graze. I wrote down the distances to different points to set my rifle scope if I needed to before venturing back down to my ATV. It didn't take nearly as long to get back down as it did up.

As I got near the bottom, I lost my footing and slipped, crashing down onto the ground with a hard thud. I hit my head against the handlebars of my ATV and could feel blood running from the side of my head, but couldn't do anything as my vision started to fade away as I blacked out.

* * *

_**Humphrey's POV**_

* * *

Kate and I were taking a little walk after she finished her alpha duties for the morning. We loved to just spend time together, talking and wandering around. I had the biggest crush anyone could have on her, but I knew I could never be with her since she's an alpha and I'm just an omega. That didn't stop us from being best friends, though.

We were walking around near the edge of the valley where a small creek runs when we heard what sounded like a scraping sound then a big thunk. "What was that?" I asked, my ears perked up and I was looking around. She was too and said "No idea….Come one, sounded like it was this way…." I followed her through the bushes and trees where the sound came from, completely shocked by what we found.

"OHMYGODHUMAN!" I screamed, turning to run, but Kate grabbed me. "Humphrey, hold on! He looks….dead…." She said, inching closer to the motionless body. I carefully followed her, ready to high tail it out of there if it moved even an inch. There was a lot of blood on it's head and the ground.

She sniffed all around it, carefully poking it sometimes to check for movement. "I think it really is dead, Kate. Let's go now!" I said, trying to get her to leave with me. She looked up at me and said "No, it's not….Just….knocked out, it seems…."

"Good, then let's leave it for someone to kill!" I said, nearly yelling. She glared at me and said "You know we cannot do that. You know we have to drag it back so the pack leaders decided what's to be done." I looked down at it and back at her, asking "What if it wakes up?"

She looked around and found a good sized rock laying on the ground, going over and picking it up and saying "We hit it." I couldn't help but crack a smile and I said "Well….I guess you'll want my help then." She nodded and said "Grab it's other leg there…."

I bent down and grabbed it's leg in my jaws and we started dragging it toward Winston and Eve's den, the pack leaders. They'd decided what will happen to it, which everyone already knew was death.

* * *

_**Cody's POV**_

* * *

I started to come back to reality as I woke up, feeling horribly groggy. "Oh, my head…." I said, lifting my arm to rub my head, but couldn't lift it much. I opened my eyes a bit to see a rope around it and tied to a big rock, holding my arm down.

"What the-!?" I asked myself, trying as hard as I could to get my arm free. "Alright, this isn't funny, whoever you are! Get in here and untie me!" I yelled, trying to move my legs, but they were the same. "The demon's awake…." I heard a deep voice say as it approached me.

I lifted my head to see an aging grey and silver wolf slowly walking in, a sinister smile on it's face. My eyes went wide and I said "Is this some kind of bad dream!?" He stopped and shook his head, saying "Unfortunately not. I was hoping the same thing when you arrived…."

"First off, who the hell are you!? And second, WHY is a wolf TALKING to me!?" I said, nearly yelling at it. He chuckled and said "I don't see you in a position to ask questions. By sundown, you'll be nothing but a lifeless corpse tied to a tree….Enjoy the couple hours you have left."

"Waitwaitwait….What ARE you talking about?" I asked, much more calmly. He smiled a little and said "That's better….You're in the Western Pack's territory, and you're a human. We sentence any and ALL humans to death that cross out borders. Seeing as you're a human, well….You do the math."

"I haven't done a single thing to you. Killing me just because I'm a human? HOW do you live with yourself?" I asked, glaring at him. He stood up and turned around to walk out, saying "Pack custom for as many years as I can remember…."

Before I could say anything more, he was gone. I groaned as I tired harder to get my arms free, but to no avail. I shifted around a little to try and push the rope on one of my legs down to my foot when another wolf came in, this one tan and white. I stopped as it spoke in a female voice.

"You're actually lucky to be alive. You seemed to have fallen and hit your head really hard." She said, setting a hollowed out turtle shell with water in it down. "Let me guess, you're hear to preach to me about humans, right?" I sarcastically asked.

She sat down and said "No, actually, I'm not. I'm actually against killing you. You really haven't done anything against us." I smiled a little and said "Well, at least someone knows that….I feel rude for not asking, so what's your name?"

She smiled just a bit as well and said "Kate, daughter of Eve and Winston, the pack leaders. He's the one that was just in here." I slowly nodded and said "Well, Kate….If you could free me, I may be of service to your pack." She got a curious look on her face and after a moment, she asked "….How so?"

"Well, for one, I can hunt. Pretty well, too! I can take down a full grown caribou in a second flat." I said. She looked suspisious now and asked "Were you hunting caribou yesterday, on top of a cliff above the valley?"

I wondered how she knew that and I said "Actually, yes. MY hunt was ruined by wolves taking my kill." Her eyes went wide and she angrily glared at me, saying "You bastard….YOU'RE the one that shot Candu!"

I was taken aback and said "No, you're wrong, I don't shoot wolves. They're the one thing I refuse to shoot." She stepped closer to me with fire in her eyes and said "He's got a bullet in his leg, and now I KNOW it was you that fired it! I saw you!"

I was about to say something when she suddenly slapped me, really hard too! Her claws left three cuts along my cheek that immediately started dripping blood. After I regained my composure, I said "Kate, I did not shoot him. I fired at the ground about ten feet away."

"LIAR! He was shot directly in his thigh, almost going up into his hip bone!" She screamed, tears coming to her eyes. I thought for a moment and said "Wait, UP into his hip?" She slowly nodded and I said "Kate, think about that….If I was ABOVE the valley, how could I shoot UP into his leg?"

She stopped and thought for a couple seconds, her eyes wide as she said "You….Didn't. Couldn't….It…." I nodded and said "Bounced. The shot I fired hit the ground and then bounced up and into his leg. I would NEVER deliberately shoot a wolf unless my life was in danger."

She stepped back a little and said "I'm….Sorry for hitting you! C-Can you….help him?" I shrugged and said "If you can get me loose, then yes. I will need a few things, though…." She nervously looked around before asking "What exactly?"

"Where you found me, my vehicle was right by me. There's a bag on the back with another smaller bag inside it with a big white cross on it. Can't miss it….If you can get me that and untie me, I can heal him. If you don't, there's a good chance it'll become infected and he'll die from it." I said, as calm and serious as I could while staring into her eyes so she knew I wasn't lying.

After a moment to think, she nodded and said "Alright, I'll do it. If you try anything else though, I WILL kill you before you can blink! Are we clear on that!?" I nodded and said "Of course. Just get me those supplies and you've got a deal."

She nodded again and cut the ropes on my arms, letting me sit up before she turned around to leave. "Don't try and leave or you'll be killed before I can get back!" She said as she ran out and off. I leaned over and picked up the shell full of water, quickly drinking it down to satisfy my thirst.

I sat back and rubbed my head, feeling dried blood and the deep cut I got, but something else over it. I was trying to take it off when I heard another, much higher female voice say "No, don't bother that or you'll bleed again."

I looked up to see a pure white wolf shyly walking in, her fur covering one lavender eye. She was absolutely gorgeous, to say the least! I immediately stopped and said "Oh, wow….Uh….Wh-What is it?" She sat down near me and said "It's a special leaf and gel mixture to stop the bleeding until it heals over. So don't take it off…."

I nodded and said "Alright then, uh…." She smiled a bit and looked down at her paws, softly saying "Lilly…." I smiled as well and said "Hi. I'm Cody." She looked back up at me and said "I know, I heard Kate talking to you. It's um….Nice to meet you, actually! You're gonna help Candu?"

I nodded and said "As soon as Kate comes back. How do you know Kate, if you don't mind me asking?" She smiled again and said "She's my sister." I nodded again and said "So, your parents are the-"

"Pack leaders, yeah. I'm also against them killing you, but they're too determined. Maybe if they see you help Candu, they'll change their minds, but I can't guarantee it." She said. I chuckled a little and said "Hey, it's worth a shot….Do you know if my rifle was brought with me?"

She nodded and said "It's over there behind you. Daddy put it out of your reach." I looked behind me to see it propped against the wall and asked "Could you get it for me, please?" She looked nervous and said "I-I don't know about that….I heard you say you're a hunter, after all…."

"Please, don't worry, I won't try anything. I just want to unload it so it doesn't go off and hurt someone." I said, hoping she'd trust me. She took a few moments to think it over before cautiously walking over and getting it.

She brought it over to me and I took it as she quickly moved away. I smiled a little and said "Nothing to be scared of….Watch…." I opened the bolt and took the round out of the chamber along with taking the magazine out, completely unloading it.

"Is it….safe now?" She asked, watching my every move. I chuckled and put the barrel against my head, pulling the trigger. She nearly screamed, but all it did was make a click. "Yep, it's safe. Here, you can take this somewhere if you like." I said, holding the magazine out for her to take.

She started to, but stopped and smiled, saying "I trust you." I smiled too and said "Well, thank you! Nice to see someone does…." She giggled a little as I laid my rifle down next to me, laying the magazine with it. "Wonder how long Kate'll be…." I asked, getting a little impatient. "She won't be much longer. Wasn't that far to where she found you." She said, smiling a little.


	3. Chapter 3

It'd been nearly a half hour now since Kate left to get what I needed from my ATV and was starting to think she wasn't coming back. Lilly was still sitting in the den near me, seemingly starting to like me. I definitely liked her since she was really sweet and she wasn't really afraid of me or anything. We'd been talking the entire time I was waiting, completely losing track of time after a little while.

All the sudden, Kate came rushing into the den, my bag in her mouth. She slid to a stop and dropped it next to me, saying in a panic "Change of plans! You're coming to Candu's den! He's gotten worse and he can't even get up!" I nodded and said "Just untie me and we'll go!"

She started to reach for the vines tied around my legs when she saw rifle next to me, her eyes going wide. "What're doing with that!? Lilly, how'd he get the gun!?" She yelled, kicking it away a little. Lilly put her paws on her shoulders and said "Kate, it's okay! He's not gonna hurt anyone with it, trust me! I watched him unload it. He even put it to his own head and pulled the trigger just to show me."

I picked up the magazine and said "If you don't believe her, then take this. It's the bullets for my rifle." I held it up to her and she nearly took it, but hesitated. "Not that I trust you….But I believe my sister. She's never lied to me." She said, a little smile on her face. I smiled too and said "Well, at least that's something in my favor. So, are you gonna untie me so I can save your friend before he dies?"

She quickly nodded and cut the vines, setting me free. Before I could even more, she put her claws at my throat and said "If you even THINK about running…." I put my hand on her paw and stared into her eyes, making her believe me as I said "Not a chance." She was a little taken aback by my assertiveness, but simply nodded and lowered her claws.

I got up and grabbed my bag before we ran off out of the den, passing at least twenty wolves that looked shocked to see me running behind Kate and Lilly. We didn't stop for anything until we got to another den about ten minutes away, going inside to see another wolf laying near the front.

I dropped my bag near him and his eyes shot open to see me standing over him. "H-HUMAN! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He screamed, trying to crawl away. Kate stopped him and said "Candu, relax! He's going to help you…." He looked up at her and said "He's going to kill me, that's what he's gonna do! Don't let him near me, please!"

I knelt down next to them and said "Hey, listen! It's my bullet that's in your leg….And I'll be damned if I do nothing and let it kill you! That shot was never meant to hit you, I promise you that. Please, you have my word I will do nothing other than take it out."

He looked between Kate and I in a panic, trying to decide what to think. Lilly walked up next to Kate and said "It'll be okay, trust me. He might be a human, but….he's alright." Her soft smile seemed to calm him down and he stopped trying to get away. "Okay….Just keep an eye on him…." He said, laying his head down.

"Don't worry; we'll be right here…." Kate said, licking his cheek. He smiled a little and I got my bag, opening it and taking out everything that I'd need to get the bullet out and stitch his leg up. "Okay, I'm about to start. This is going to hurt quite a bit, so you might wanna bite down on something." I said, looking around for a bone or something.

Lilly was too and she started digging up some dirt behind her, soon uncovering a caribou bone. She handed it to him and he put it in his mouth, nodding to me that he was ready. "Alright, here we go…." I said, opening a small bottle of alcohol and dumping it around the bullet wound. He loudly whimpered in pain and I got a thin pair of needle nose pliers, pouring some alcohol on them as well.

"Okay, I can see it already. Just take a deep breath…." I said, putting my hand on his thigh. He flinched a little before taking a deep breath and I quickly reached in with the pliers, getting a grip on the bullet. He bit down as hard as he could on the bone, cracking sounds coming from it as I started slowly pulling it out.

"It's….Just….About….THERE!" I said as I came out along with quite a bit of blood. I quickly put a gauze pad over his leg to help stop the bleeding until I could start stitching his leg. He dropped the done and was panting from the pain with tears in his eyes. "You're gonna be alright, Candu….You're gonna be alright…." Kate said, gently rubbing his side and smiling at him.

I started getting my stitches and a needle out along with a shot of Novocain for pain. I stuck it in his hip and gave it to him, saying "This'll help with the pain, don't worry. Just tell me when you can't feel it anymore and I'll finish up."

He nodded and I looked up at Lilly, who smiled at me and said "Thank you for what you're doing, even if he won't say it. I know humans shouldn't be trusted, but I think you're different…." I chuckled and said "Well, thank you, Lilly. Anything I can do to help, all you need to do is ask…."

She nodded, but then her eyes went wide as she looked behind me at the entrance to the den. It turned around to see the first wolf from the den standing there, glaring at me. "Dad….Don't…." Kate calmly said, but he started moving toward me, rage in his eyes.

"DAD! Leave him alone!" They both said, moving between he and I. "Girls, do NOT be protecting him! What were you thinking bringing him here!?" He asked, nearly yelling at his own daughters. "He's saving Candu's life, that's what! Either leave him or Candu might die your choice!" Kate yelled, surprising him.

He was about to say something when another wolf came in, this one a shade of red with a cream white belly and chest. "Sir, if I may….I've been watching the entire time. He took the bullet out and gave him a shot for the pain." He said, standing with Kate and Lilly. Winston looked between them all and Candu a few times before finally saying "Alright, he can continue….ONLY if you all keep a close eye on him!"

He walked out and they came back over to where I was, the red one saying "Since I know your name and you don't know mine, I'm Garth, the son of the Eastern Pack leader, Tony." I nodded and said "Nice to meet you, Garth. Thank you for that, too…." He smiled a little and said "Hey, you're helping one of my friends….No reason to thank me."

I chuckled a little and turned back to Candu, touching his leg around the bullet wound and asking "Can you feel anything still?" He shook his head and said "Only you pushing on my leg. The pain's all gone." I nodded and said "Good, then I'll stitch your leg up and you'll be good to go."

I started stitching the wound closed, making sure they wouldn't break open later on until it was time to remove then. Luckily, I knew how to do this from emergency medical classes, on a human anyway. Isn't much different on a wolf, as it turns out.

It took me about twenty minutes to completely do it, finally finishing as I cleaned his leg off with a bit more alcohol and bandaged it. I wiped my forehead and said "Alright, all done….I don't recommend trying to run for the next week or so. You don't want to rip the wound back open or you might bleed to death."

He nodded and I started putting all my supplies away as Kate helped him to his feet. He limped over to me and said "Thank you for what you did….I owe you my life." I smiled and said "No, you don't. I caused this, and now I've fixed it. However, I do hope this might make the pack leaders reconsider killing me…."

"Oh, it will, trust me. Even if we have to fight it, nobody's taking your life. They don't really make the final choice, it's a pack decision." Kate said, smiling at me. I breathed a sigh of relief and said "Good….If there's anything else I could do to help, just say so. If not, can someone show me a place I can rest?"

Lilly stepped forward and said "I can take you back to the den you were in earlier. You can stay there for now." I smiled a bit and said "Well, thank you. Oh, just a thought….Since we ruined each other's hunt yesterday, have you been able to get anything more to feed the pack?"

Kate shook her head and said "Nobody's gone out since yesterday. Now that you mention it, we really do need to…." I chuckled and said "What would you say to me assisting you?" She looked at me funny and said "And how would you do that? We can take down a caribou in just a few seconds."

"I can kill one in a split second. I have a rifle, remember?" I asked, smiling at her. She thought a moment before smiling too and saying "You know, I think that might work. It'd help keep us out of the danger of being trampled or something…." I nodded and said "Just let me know when you're planning to go. I'm ready anytime."

"Alright, thank you! We'll figure it out soon enough." Kate said, her tail swishing across the dirt. I smiled and said "No problem. I need a little rest first." She nodded and Lilly and I walked out, heading off toward the den we came from earlier.

"That was pretty impressive what you did…." She shyly said, blushing a little." I chuckled and said "Well, it was just basic medical procedures. Nothing TOO impressive…." She giggled and said "I've never seen it done before, so yeah, it was pretty impressive!"

"Well, okay then, we'll settle on that. So, can you tell me something?" I asked, looking down at her. She smiled and said "Possibly. What's up?" I shrugged and asked "Why is your pack so….so hateful to humans?" She stopped and looked up at me, making me stop too as she said "It's not the entire pack. Something that only a very few of us know is that only Dad hates humans, but with a good reason! The rest of us, we're fine with it. Just so long as they don't bother us…."

"Okay….So, what happened to him then?" I asked, hoping I was upsetting her. She continued walking, but in silence and I followed her, soon arriving at the den. We went inside and I sat down, saying "Well, thanks for showing me-"

"He was nearly murdered." She interrupted, a sad look on her face. I looked up at her and said "Wait, what do you mean? What happened?" She sighed and sat down, saying "Last year, he and one of our best Alphas were out on border patrol. They weren't doing a THING wrong when apparently two humans jumped them. One of them killed the Alpha he was with and the other nearly killed him, but he managed to get away, just barely."

"Was he hurt?" I asked. She nodded and said "Pretty badly, too. A major vein in his chest got cut and he was bleeding out by the time he got back. Mom was, and still sort of is the pack healer, but even she could barely save him. It's pretty much a miracle he's still alive, to be honest."

"Wow….And since that day, he…." I started when she nodded and said "Hates humans, with a burning passion. That's why it's a pack rule to bring any subdued human to his den, so he can kill them for what they almost did to him." I was stunned to say the least, killing any human over one.

"Lilly, I don't know how much more respectfully I can say this, but….Your Dad's a little crazy." I said, but to my surprise, she just laughed. "Well, yeah, we all know that….But, he's a great pack leader! He does a lot more then just boss everyone around. We all love him…."

I smiled a little and said "Well, I really appreciate you telling me that….Maybe there's something I can do to show him I'm not like the others…." She smiled too and said "You've already done something….You saved Candu's life! Sure, it might've been partly YOUR fault anyway, but you fixed it….It's more then any of us could possibly do."

"Thank you, Lilly. If you don't mind, I'm gonna get a little rest now. I'm kinda tired…." I said, yawning. She blushed a little and said "I'll….Lay down at the entrance to uh….Make sure no one comes in and bothers you. That okay?" I chuckled and said "I'd like that, thank you…."

She smiled a bit and walked over to just inside the entrance, laying down in the dirt to watch outside. I smiled to myself and laid back, putting my bag under my head so it was a little more comfortable. I closed my eyes and started to drift off to sleep, thinking of ways to try and earn Winston's trust.

* * *

_**Kate's POV**_

* * *

I was still at Candu's den, keeping an eye on him to make sure he was okay. Hutch, Garth and Humphrey were all here as well, talking about Cody. They didn't really seem to care he was a human, actually. After what he did for Candu, they were sorta taking a liking to him, mainly Hutch. Humphrey was a bit skeptical, but he's still a little unsure of him.

"I'm just saying, think about it….All we'd need to do is just sit and wait, he shoots the caribou, killing it in a heartbeat, we drag it back to the pack, BOOM! Everyone's able to eat something other then bones or those frickin' berries! Honestly, I'd rather chew on tree bark than eat those!" Hutch said, making the others chuckle.

"Yeah, but you chew on bark already anyway….But, you're right, he could be a really big help! We don't need to starve anymore!" Garth said, smiling a bit. Hutch nodded in agreement, but Humphrey said "Sure, there's that, but what if he turns on us? Maybe he shoots one of us!?"

Garth and Hutch simply looked at each other, Hutch asking "Can you remind me again why we're discussing this with an Omega? Didn't we KNOW this would happen!?" Humphrey looked really hurt, which upset me to the point I got up and said "Hey! Just because he's an Omega doesn't mean he doesn't have a say in anything! And besides, his question makes sense. What if he DOES turn on us?"

They both looked a little stunned from how mad I was, but Humphrey was just sitting there smiling his head off. After a moment, Garth finally said "Alright, alright….Honestly, I don't know. I suppose it is something to consider…."

"That's better…." I said, sitting back down next to Humphrey. We could all see him blush under his fur, but he didn't let it faze him and moved a little closer to me, leaning against my side a bit. Garth and Hutch looked at us questioningly and Garth asked "Is there….something going on between you two?"

Humphrey and I looked at each other and smiled as I said "There could be….Then again, maybe not. Not really your business, is it now?" Hutch chuckled a little and said "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are secretly seeing each other…."

"PACK LAW!" Candu shouted, but then loudly groaned in pain before settling back down. "We're not secretly seeing each other….We're best friends, okay? We have been since we were pups, and you both know it!" I said, giggling a bit.

"Alright, no need to get snappy with us….Humphrey, I'll be one of the teachers at Alpha School coming up, but just because you're a friend doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you." Hutch said, smiling at him. Humphrey's eyes went wide and he looked at me, asking "When did you tell him!? And who else!?"

"She didn't need to, dipstick! Even I can tell you two want to be together! You going to Alpha School is the only way that would happen, so I'll see you in the winter." Hutch said, laughing along with Garth. Even Candu chuckled a little, followed by a small groan of pain. Humphrey smiled a bit and said "Okay, sounds good to me! Guess our little secret's out…."

"Yeah, no kidding….My dorky Omega…." I said, rubbing my nose on his. He wasn't surprised in the least, but everyone else was. "Just because he's going to be an Alpha, doesn't mean he's not an Omega still. Keep it private or someone's gonna find out and go blabbing….Then you'd both be screwed, one of you finding themselves to be a lone wolf soon after." Garth said, looking dead serious.

"Don't worry, we know. Can't help it sometimes, though…." I said, giggling a little as I rested my head on Humphrey's shoulder. They looked at each other and Hutch said "Come on, let's go see if Winston has anything for us to do. See you later, Candu! We'll be back after while to see how you're crippled ass is doing…."

"Yeah, sure, whatever….Assclown…." Candu groaned, making them laugh before they turned to leave. I looked at Humphrey and said "Anything you wanna do for a little while? I've got at least a couple hours until I need to go on border patrol." He smiled and asked "Wanna go log sledding?"

* * *

_**Well, that's a wrap for this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it and continue to stick around for the next one! I've got a few ideas planned for this story, which should make it rather interesting. Remember to review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Lilly's POV – Three Hours Later**_

It'd been a few hours now since Cody had finished working on Candu, probably saving his life. I showed him back to the den he was in before and offered to stay to make sure nobody bothered him while he got a little rest. He offered to help hunt since nobody's gotten anything to eat all yesterday and today, so everybody was really hungry!

Of course, I had another reason for staying….As far as humans go, Cody's actually rather interesting. He obviously won't hurt any of us, wants to help any way he can and could be a really good pack member. I just laid there at the entrance the entire time, occasionally finding myself staring at him and wondering exactly why I wasn't afraid of him. I mean, he's a human after all. Common sense would say be afraid….But, I'm not.

I was lost in thought when I heard him waking up, stretching out with a groan. I turned to look at him and smiled, saying "Well, looks who's awake!" He looked over at me and smiled too, asking "How long was I out?" I looked outside at the sun before saying "About three hours or so. Sleep well?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled, saying "Sorta….My neck and back are sore as hell…." I giggled and said "Well, I'm not surprised. Did sleep on hard ground after all….Not the most comfortable thing, I know."

He nodded and looked around before asking "Did you stay there the entire time?" I blushed a little and said "Yeah, I did….Just like I said I would. Nobody came by, though." He smiled and said "Well, thank you either way. I'm glad I wasn't woken by someone snarling at me…."

I giggled a little again and said "Good point! I'm just waiting to hear how Candu's doing." He smiled again and said "Well, we could always go see. I want to know as well…." I nodded and got up, saying "Okay, let's go then!" He chuckled and got up as well, following me out and quickly over to Candu's den. We went inside to see Kate and Humphrey still there, whispering to each other in the corner.

They saw us come in and Kate said "Oh, you're back! He's asleep right now." Cody nodded and said "How's he been doing?" Kate shrugged and said "Okay, it seems. He was in pain for a little while, but it seemed to stop after a bit and he went to sleep."

"Well, that's good. You two decided to stick around a while?" I asked, smiling at them. Kate giggled a little and said "Yeah, we did. I was actually waiting for you to come back, Cody." He smiled too and said "Oh, and why's that?"

"Well, you offered to hunt with us earlier….I'm going to talk to our Dad and ask when a hunting party's going out. I'd really appreciate it if you come along. We won't tell him until afterwards…." Kate said, sounding a little nervous about asking him to go, but he nodded and said "I'd love to help out! Just tell me when and I'm there."

She nodded and said "Great! If you'll all excuse me, I'm gonna go talk to him now and see what's going on." We all nodded and she got up, giving Humphrey a light peck on the cheek before quickly walking out and toward her parents' den. When she was out of sight, we looked at Humphrey and I asked "Okay….What was that about!?"

He smiled a bit and said "Alpha business….Nothing to worry about." i suspiciously smiled and said "Right….I'll have to ask Kate, it seems…." He shrugged and said "You can, but she'll probably tell you the same thing." Cody smiled and said "Alpha business, huh? Then how much longer are you still an Omega?"

"Wait, you're going to become an Alpha?! When did this happen?" I asked, curious as hell. Humphrey smiled and blushed a little, saying "Since the last Moonlight Howl. Probably the best night of my life…."

_**Three Nights Ago**_

"Veronica, I'm sorry, I just….Can't howl anymore tonight…." Humphrey lied, trying to get out of this more-then-awkward situation he got himself into. He didn't have a date, which isn't uncommon for him, so he waited on the mountain for a girl he could ask. It didn't take long until she came along, but it got awkward fast.

She was too much into the vegetarian thing going on more recently for his liking, talking about it every chance she got. It's so healthy, you'll feel better if you try it, yadda yadda yadda….His mind screamed for him to just walk away while he tried to keep himself from ripping his own ears off while she went on and on.

"Oh, well….O-Okay. I suppose it IS kinda late….I uh….I had a nice time, Humphrey." She said, faking a smile. He forced himself to smile a little as he said "I um…I did, too. Maybe we could….come together again?"

"Y-Yeah, that'd be….nice. Well….Goodnight…." She said, getting up and walking down the hill with him, the both of them silent all the way down. He sat down while she continued walking away and when she was out of sight, he let out a long sigh of relief, saying "Thank god that's over with….One more word and my brain would explode!"

He looked back up the mountain to see a lot of couple still howling, and it upset him that he wasn't. In his mind, there was only one girl he actually wanted to howl with, and that was Kate. However, being an Omega meant he couldn't….He went with other girls just to keep his mind occupied, but his thoughts always shifted to Kate.

He let out another sigh and said to himself "I need a drink…." He got up and walked off toward the small river running by the mountain only a minute away. When he got there, he sat back down and leaned down to get a drink, the cool water quite the treat in the warm night air. He started to hear footsteps behind him and turned around to see Kate walking by, seemingly not even seeing him.

"_Wasn't she just howling with Drake?" _He thought to himself, remembering he saw up the mountain not five minutes ago with a fellow Alpha. He got curious and got up, quietly following her deeper into the woods and toward where he knew there was a little pond. It only took a couple minutes since she was walking rather fast, like she was in a hurry.

When he saw the pond, he watched her walk right over to the bank, drop to the ground and start crying her eyes out. His own eyes went wide and he got really worried, slowly walking up toward her. She didn't hear him behind her until he said "Kate? Are you….okay?"

She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes burning red and she said "H-Humphrey….I can't _*sniff*_ believe this…." He walked up and laid down next to her, asking "Believe what?" She took a breath and said "Drake… Left me _*sniff*_ up there…." He felt horrible for her, being stood up in the middle of a howl like that.

He put his paw on her cheek and caringly said "It's alright, it's not the end of the world….So one guy is an ass. That doesn't mean they ALL are…." She smiled a little and sniffed again, saying "I know, I know….But, why is it so hard to find one who isn't?"

He chuckled a little and said "Because they're shy…." She couldn't hold back a little giggle and she said "But, you're nice….And you're not shy." He smiled a little more and said "Not around you, anyway….I'm a wreck around other girls, believe me." She nodded and said "I've seen….Why aren't you shy around me?"

"Because we've been best friends for as long as I can remember. I know everything about you." He said, chuckling again. She giggled again too and said "Okay, fair enough….Thank you…." He gave her cheek a quick peck and said "Don't mention it, that's what I'm here for." They ended up staring into each other's eyes, as if mentally thinking the exact same thing.

She hesitantly leaned a little closer, slowly closing her eyes as he did the same thing. They slowly got closer and closer until their lips and noses touched, making them both blush as they engaged in a passionate kiss. She involuntarily shivered from the feeling and he brought his paw up to her neck, gently pulling her closer.

They broke apart a few moments later and slowly opened their eyes, both of them blushing like mad. "Kate…." He started, unable to put his thoughts together. "Humphrey…." She softly said, her heart beating faster than if she'd sprinted a mile straight. They looked away from each other, their cheeks on fire and minds racing.

Humphrey finally calmed down enough to be able to think straight and said "Kate, I need to tell you something….We've been friends for a long time, but….I've always wanted more than that with you. I've been in love with you since….Well, for a long time, I'll put it that way! I don't mean a little childhood crush, either…. I. AM. IN. LOVE. WITH. YOU!"

She was completely stunned from what she'd heard, her best friend in the entire world was in love….With her! She'd always thought Humphrey was cute, charming and quite the character, but she'd never really felt more than friendship between them. After being stood up at the howl and him being there to comfort her like he always has been, THAT'S when she realized she wanted the same as he did.

"Humphrey….You don't know how much you mean to me. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be losing my mind being an Alpha already! You put so much joy in my life, it's unbelievable! I know I've done some stupid things to make you mad, but the fact you put it all behind you and still want to be with me….It's….Better than simple words can describe!" She said, happy tears running down her cheeks and dripping to the ground.

His heart leapt as he heard her words and he could barely keep himself from kissing her right then and there again. Right as he was about to speak, the look on her face changed from happy to sad in an instant as she said "But, we can't be together….We're not the same rank….Nobody would allow us to be in love. God knows what Mom and Dad would do if they found out…."

He put his paw on her and smiled as he said "Kate, you don't need to worry….Come winter, I'm joining Alpha School." Her eyes went wide and she said "Y-You are!? Are you sure you want to put yourself through all that?" He slowly nodded and kissed her on the lips, saying "If it means we can be together, then yes, I'll do it a million times."

She let out an ecstatic half cry, half laugh as she locked her lips onto his, making their kiss as passionate as she possibly could and he returned it just as much as she gave. They made out for at least ten minutes, too caught up in passion to keep track of time. When they finally broke apart, they were panting for breath and rubbed their noses together.

"Kate, I want to ask you something…." He quietly said without moving away from her. She smiled and said "Anything…." He smiled a little more than she did and said "After I get back from Alpha School, I'm going to talk to your father. But, before I do….You would make me the happiest wolf in the world if you'll do me the-"

He was stopped by Kate putting her paw on his mouth, smiling much more with tears in her eyes and she nodded, saying "Humphrey, I would love nothing more than to marry you! I've had dreams of being your mate, but never imagined it would come true….Yes, I will marry you!" He shot up and wrapped his forelegs around her as he rolled them around, laughing and kissing like fools.

When he finally stood up off her, she smiled again and said "And another thing….According to Mom, all the females are going to come into heat around the end of Alpha School. Even me….I need to know before I do if you want to have pups with me."

"Kate….That would be the most amazing thing to ever happen in my life! Of course I do…." He said, leaning down and kissing her again. She returned it and they lay there in the cool dirt making out again, not a care in the world aside from each other and their love.

_**Present**_

"Wow, Humphrey….I can't believe I heard all that!" I said, as happy as I could be for him. Cody nodded and said "Yeah, that's really amazing! Congratulations, even if it's a bit early!" Humphrey smiled and said "Well, thank you both! I know Kate's really excited, but she's got to keep it a secret until I get back. You guys can't tell anyone else, please! Her parents CANNOT find out yet!"

"Don't worry, nobody else will know, especially Mom and Dad. I know you're gonna make Kate really happy….You're a really good guy." I said, hugging him. He chuckled and said "Thanks, Lilly….I hate to leave all the sudden, but I need to go now." Cody and I nodded and he said "Don't sweat it. Just gotta wait for Kate to come back now."

Humphrey nodded and said "I'll see you guys later then!" He got up and quickly left, clearly in a hurry to get where he needed to go. I let out a happy sigh and said "You know, I've had a little feeling deep down they would be more than friends someday." Cody smiled and said "Well, they definitely seem really good together!"

I nodded again and right then, Kate came walking back in with a smile on her face. "Well, I've got a couple good things you'll wanna hear!" She said, coming in and sitting down with us. "First off, Dad's getting a small hunting party together right now. Only two others and I told him you're coming weather he likes it or not."

"Well, alright then! Sounds good to me! What else?" Cody asked, smiling. She giggled a bit and said "Even though Hutch has never met you yet, he's given you his den for saving Candu. He said it's the least he could do for saving the life of his best friend."

"Wow, really!? Jesus….As much as I appreciate it, I can't accept that. I've got my own home a little over a mile from here." Cody said, chuckling. Kate nodded and said "I told him about that and you'd probably say no, which he's perfectly okay with. He said if you ever need anything at all, just ask him."

"Well, I'll have to be sure to thank him when I finally meet him." Cody said, a big smile on his face. Kate smiled too and said "Won't be too long since he's in every hunting party. You'll meet him pretty soon." Cody nodded and I said "Sounds like you two have a busy day in the works then! I'm gonna head home and maybe take a bit of a nap."

Kate smiled at me and said "Alright, Lilly, I'll see you later then!" I smiled back and got up, walking out and as I passed her, I whispered "By the way….Congratulations!" Her eyes went wide and I giggled a bit as I quickly walked out and headed home, excited for her and Humphrey.

* * *

_**Yep, I know...Bit of a short chapter. The next one will be pretty good length, so I hope it'll make up for this one! This chapter is more an...explanation chapter. I've gotten a few PM's asking for a backstory to Kate and Humphrey getting together, so that's what this one was really centered around as you could tell by the additional detail put into the flashback there. Hope you guys stick around for chapter 4! Don't know when I might have it up, but definitely after New Year's. I'm working more and have less time to write, so both this and Life With Lilly are suffering.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Lilly: **Yay, new chapter time! Sorry it took so long...We didn't have a plan for this one, so we just thought about it as we went._

**_Cody: _**_She's right, we didn't. Still feel like it turned out good, so enjoy the new chapter everyone!_

* * *

_**Cody's POV**_

Kate told me exactly where to go to meet the hunting party, some place pretty close to the valley the caribou were at. I'd been sitting there for probably a half hour now, rifle lying next to me while I waited for them. She said it would be her, Hutch and one other, so I was anxious to know who it was. I wanted to impress them the best I could, so I only had one bullet to use.

Within a few more minutes, I finally saw them coming, and was rather shocked to see who the third wolf was! I know she said it was someone close, but I didn't expect her MOTHER to be coming! "Oh, crap…." I said to myself, shaking in fear a little. I didn't know how she felt about humans, and assumed the same way Kate's father, Winston I think it was, felt.

She stopped and glared at me, saying "Kate….What the HELL is he doing here!?" Kate smiled and said "He's here to help us, Mom. Just trust me, okay? I trust him…." Her mother hesitantly nodded to her and Kate came up to me, saying "Well, I almost thought you weren't going to be here. Don't worry about my Mom….As long as you don't do anything wrong, you SHOULD be okay."

I shakily nodded and Kate motioned for us to follow her, so I got up with my gun and walked along side her, looking back over my shoulder to see her mother still glaring at me, an intent to kill look in her eyes. We walked over to the edge of a short cliff and looked down to see four or five rather good size caribou grazing.

"So, how do you think you can help here?" Hutch asked, sitting down. I looked around and saw a small overlook a little ways away from us that would be good to hide on. "See that overhang there?" I asked, pointing over at it. Kate nodded and I said "Follow me…." We crept over to the overlook and I laid down near the edge as did they.

"So, now what?" Hutch quietly asked as we watched the caribou start to move away from us. I picked my rifle up and loaded my one shot, my one chance to prove I can help them. "Cover your ears…." I said, shouldering it and aiming down at the largest one in the herd. I waited a few seconds to give them time to cover their ears and brought the crosshairs up to the caribou's head; Right where it's spine would be.

I took a long breath and slowly pulled the trigger, the loud crack of the shot shattering the still air around us. Within a split second of firing the shot, the bullet hit the caribou right in the back of the head, dropping it to the ground in an instant with a mist of blood. The rest of them took off running, but the one I shot was dead before it heard the shot.

"And that…." I said as I opened the bolt, the hot shell ejecting out and onto the ground next to us with a metallic clink. "….Is a dead caribou." I looked at Kate and she just looked stunned and said "You mean it's dead….Just like that!?"

I nodded and Hutch smiled a bit, saying "Holy crap….It'd take four of us to take down something that big!" I chuckled and said "That's the nice thing about these things…." I laid my rifle down as I said "It'll kill anything in the blink of an eye."

* * *

_**Lilly's POV**_

I was lying in the den waiting for Mom to get back. She'd went with Kate and Hutch on their hunt with Cody, which I didn't understand why she went. Maybe to see how it would go, but who knows her reasons for anything. Dad was sitting outside talking to Tony, the Eastern Pack leader, about some sort of _"treaty" _as they called it. I was only half paying attention when I heard a gunshot ring out, echoing inside the den.

It got all of our attention, but I wasn't worried since it sounded like Cody's gun did when he fired it yesterday before Kate found him. I got up and walked out to where Dad and Tony were, but he pushed me back a little, saying "Honey, stay in there….There's a hunter out there somewhere….Somewhere close."

I smiled and sat down next to him, saying "Don't worry, Daddy….It was Cody's gun, I recognize it. I thought you knew he was off hunting with Kate?" His head whipped around to me and his eyes were as wide as could be. "Wait, what!? That human is out there with a gun and my daughter!?" He yelled, obviously scared.

"Um….Yeah, and Hutch….Kate said she'd told you he was going on their hunt." I said, sorta regretting mentioning it now. "No….No, no, no….He….He killed my daughter…." He quietly said in a panic. I rolled my eyes and said "Dad, she's fine, trust me. Cody's not gonna hurt anyone…."

"How can you say that!? Don't you know what humans do to us!? They kill us for sport!" He yelled, slightly annoying me now. I sighed and said "Dad, look….Almost everyone knows what happened to you that day. Yes, it was a horrible thing for them to do, but not all humans are like that. Cody's lived near the territory for years and he hasn't done anything to us, except what happened to Candu but that wasn't really his fault anyway."

"Honey, you just don't understand…." He sternly said, making me a bit more upset. I stood up and said "Yes, I do understand just fine! You hate all humans just because of one or two! They aren't all the same! Do you understand THAT!?"

He was stunned I'd stood up to him like that, and so was I, to be honest. I usually don't get mad at others, aside from the random jerk hitting on me. Before he could say anything more, I walked out of the den and off in no real direction except away from there. I needed to cool off before Mom got back and Dad told her what I said to him.

I found a nice shady spot to relax and sat down, waiting on them to come back and see how it went. It didn't take long until I saw Kate and Hutch coming up a small hill above the valley where the caribou usually are, but with something else sorta odd. They had some kind of vine or something around their chests and were pulling some kind of flat log board behind them. That's when I saw the monstrous caribou laying on it!

Cody came walking up behind them, Mom right next to him and they were clearly talking, but I couldn't hear them. They were both smiling, that's for sure, although it's not something Mom does a lot without threatening someone in the process. I got up and started walking over toward the, curious about what happened.

Kate and Hutch stopped dragging the caribou on the board and Cody did something with the vine or whatever it was, causing it to come apart in the middle and fall off them. "Wow, that was a pretty good idea! Lot easier to drag one back with that…." Hutch said, chuckling as he shook his fur out.

"I made it to drag caribou behind my ATV, but it seems to work just fine for you guys, too." Cody said, smiling at him. Kate sat down and said "Well, I for one say that hunt went well. What do you think, Mom?"

Mom smiled too and said "I think it did, too! To be honest, I was expecting you to do something like run away…." Cody chuckled and said "Well, even if I did, I wouldn't have gotten far….It was my pleasure today, Eve." I smiled a bit to myself hearing them talking like they were good friends. I knew it was a good thing Mom seemed to like him because if anyone can talk some sense into Dad, it's her.

I walked up to them and Kate saw me coming, immediately saying "Oh, Lilly, you should've seen it! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" I giggled a bit and said "Okay, so what happened?" She giggled a little too and said "It'd take about four of us to take down a caribou this size….He did it from the top of the ridge in heartbeat! With one shot!"

I was a little surprised to hear how easy it seemed, so I asked "Like….Just dead? Nothing?" She quickly nodded and said "Yeah, just nothing as soon as he shot it. It was dead before it hit the ground, apparently."

"Wow! So, he could be a big help on hunts then?" I asked and she nodded again before turning to him and saying "Anytime you'd like to hunt with us, just ask. I'm sure nobody would object." He smiled and right before he was about to say something, we heard someone loudly clear their throat and I immediately knew it was Dad.

We all turned to see what was going on and he said "Eve, Kate, Garth and Tony….I'd like to speak to you all in the den. Soon as possible, please." With that, he turned around and went inside, leaving us all to wonder what he wanted. "Well, guess that's our calling….I'll catch up with you guys later!" Kate said, quickly walking off with Mom.

"Hey, Lilly?" Cody suddenly asked, getting my attention. I turned to look at him and he asked "Think anybody would object to me going back to my own home for a little while? It's only about a mile away…." I smiled and said "I don't think so. Although, someone should probably go with you….You know, just to be sure you don't do anything…."

He chuckled and said "Fair enough. Care to go with me?" I got nervous and said "W-Well, I meant more like and Alpha….Or Beta….Not an Omega like me." He smiled more and said "What's the difference? It's only a rank….Besides, I'm sure you can be just as threatening as any Alpha in the pack." I couldn't help but giggle a little as I said "Well….Alright, I guess. Only if you promise we're back before sundown!"

"Promise. We should get going then if we're gonna be back by then." He said, reaching down and picking up his big bag of some kind that the stuff he used on Candu was in. I nodded and we walked off toward the valley, me still a bit nervous about going to a human's home.

We were making small talk on the way, so I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going. Next thing I knew, we were walking up to his loud machine he was found next to. I looked around and said "I thought you said we were going to your home?" He smiled again and said "We are, but we'll get there a lot faster with this. Besides, I need to take it back anyway…."

He put his back on the back and tied it down to another one before sitting on the machine, turning something and then pushing a button that made it pop a couple times before it growled like an angry grizzly! I jumped back away from it and nearly screamed "What in the hell is this!?"

"It's called an ATV. It's how I get around quickly….Don't worry, it's not gonna hurt you. Come on, climb up on the back." He said, sliding forward on it. I shook my head and said "Nuh uh, I'd rather walk!" He chuckled and said "Lilly, you trust me, right?" I nodded and he said "I would NEVER do anything to put your life in danger if I could help it. If I tell you something is okay, I really mean it."

I looked at him and his "ATV", as he called it, a couple times before finally coming to a choice. I let out a sigh and said "Okay….I trust you…." He smiled again and said "Climb up onto the back…." I nervously walked up to it and started to put my paws next to his bags when I touched something really hot that made me nearly yelp!

"Ow, it burned me!" I said as I looked at my foreleg, a small patch of fur and skin singed. He turned the ATV off and quickly got off it, kneeling down next to me and saying "I'm sorry, I should've told you….I forgot the pipe was there…." I weakly smiled and said "It's alright….It only stings a bit." He smiled a bit as well and said "Here, let's try something different…."

I nodded and he put his arms under my chest and stomach, easily lifting and setting me on the back. I sat down the best I could, but it was narrow and too smooth to get any good grip on. I nearly slipped off a couple times before he sat down in front of me and said "Okay, now put your forelegs around my middle." I looked at him funny and said "Do what?!"

He chuckled and said "It's alright, just hold onto me so you don't fall off…." I nervously nodded and blushed a little and I scooted closer to his back and put my forelegs around him, nearly pressing myself into his back. He must've been able to sense I was nervous, so he said "Just hold on tight, okay?" I nodded and he started it back up, scaring me a bit again with the loud noise it made.

It suddenly lurched forward a bit with a loud click before starting to roll away from where it was sitting, slowly speeding up as we went toward the valley. I looked around to see everything moving rather quickly, like sprinting through the forest. "Good back there so far?" He asked, nearly having to yell over the noise and wind. I nodded and loudly said "So far….How long until we get there?"

"About ten minutes. If you feel you need to, move a little more forward so you don't fall. Last thing I want is you getting hurt…." He said, making me smile a little. I scooted forward just a little, my chest just barely touching his back. I heard him chuckle a bit, which in turn made me blush. We kept going along for a little bit longer, going down into and up out of the valley.

When we came up a small trail through the woods, I could see a small building up near the top, hidden back in the trees a bit. I figured that was his home and sure enough, we stopped right out front of it and the shut the ATV off. "Well, here we are….Home sweet home…." He said as I let go of him and looked around.

"I was expecting some kind of den…." I said, smiling a bit. He chuckled and said "Well, being a wolf and all….I guess that's not surprising." I giggled a little and hopped off the ATV, shaking my fur to get it back to normal since it was messed up from the wind. He got off as well and untied his bags before picking them up and saying "Care to come inside?" I smiled again and nodded, but on the inside, I was nervous as hell walking into a human's home.

* * *

_**Cody's POV**_

Lilly and I walked up to the front door and I unlocked it, turning the knob and pushing it open. "Come on in!" I said, letting her walk in first. She was smiling a bit, but I knew she was nervous or scared. I would be to if I were in her place. She walked past me and slowly went in, looking all around and sniffing the air.

I went in behind her and left the door open since it was rather stuffy inside, and in case she wanted to go outside. I dropped my backpack on the floor next to the door as I said "Well, just uh….Make yourself at home! Not sure what the would mean to a wolf, but anyway…."

She giggled a bit and said "Well, thank you! Is it okay if I just….look around a little?" I nodded and said "Of course! I'm gonna change my clothes and use the bathroom real quick." She nodded and started wandering around the front room, sniffing and inspecting everything in sight while I went down to the bedroom to change.

I got some clean clothes out of the close and went into the bathroom, changing clothes to freshen myself a little bit and "used the bathroom" as well. It only took a few minutes and I opened the door going back into the bedroom to see Lilly with her front paws on the side of the bed and sniffing it.

"Go on, hop up there!" I said, startling her. She fell back onto the floor, scared to death. I chuckled a little and said "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you…." She got back up onto her feet and said "I-It's okay….I wasn't really paying attention. That thing smells pretty strong of you!"

I dropped my clothes in a small basket before I walked over to the bed, saying "Well, that's where I sleep….Come here…." She came over I patted the top of the bed, saying "Go ahead and hop up here." She looked up at me with a nervous look on her face, but she jumped up after a moment and immediately started sniffing it all over more.

"There you go! Rather soft, isn't it?" I asked, chuckling. She smiled and said "Yeah, it is! You get to sleep on this all the time!?" I nodded and she said "You're so lucky….Hard, cold dirt isn't really that comfortable."

I smiled too and said "Yeah, I know….Being tied up and hostage…." She dropped her ears and said "It wasn't my choice…." I ran my hand over her head, surprising her at first, but she smiled a bit as I said "I know it wasn't. I was only saying…." She nodded a little and sat down, asking "So, other than hunt, what do you DO around here?"

I shrugged and said "Not much of anything, I guess. I decided to live here instead of the city just to enjoy the wilderness." She slowly nodded and asked "What about your family?" I felt a twinge of pain in my heart when she said the word "family", but smiled a bit and said "Not something I really wanna talk about….Are you hungry? I know you didn't eat before we left…."

Right then, her stomach growled, and pretty loud too! I chuckled a bit while she just blushed and I said "Answers that question….I'll make us something to eat." She nodded again and quietly said "Thank you…." I smiled more and said "No, don't worry about it. It's my pleasure. There's more of the house if you wanna check it out."

"Okay, I think I will!" She said, her tail wagging a little. I nodded and walked out to the kitchen, opening the freezer and taking two caribou steaks out. I put them in the microwave to defrost and smiled to myself, thinking _"Good thing the city isn't far off….Having power sure does make life easier."_

* * *

_**Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Hey, Lilly, food's ready!" I called out, putting one of the steaks on a plate for myself while I waited for her. After a few moments, she still didn't come out to eat and I said to myself "Hmm, might've found the basement…." I walked toward the back of the house where to stairs to the basement were, passing the bedroom on the way.

I almost walked right past it, but stopped and looked in, smiling at what I saw. She was completely asleep, stretched out on the bed with a big smile on her face. I quietly chuckled to myself and walked in, gently shaking her shoulder as I said "Hey, wake up…."

Her eyes fluttered open to see me standing there and she instantly blushed, saying "Uh….H-Hi…." I chuckled again and said "Hi, yourself! Fell asleep, huh?" She nodded and rolled onto her stomach, stretching out as she sleepily said "This thing is just so comfortable…."

"Is it, isn't it? Food's ready if you're still hungry." I said as she got down off the bed. We walked out to the front room and I got our food, giving her one of the steaks. She smiled and said "Thank you!" I smiled back and she took it, laying down and tearing into it while I sat down on the couch to eat mine. She was completely shredding it apart, obviously enjoying it! I figured she would've inspected it first, but no, she just dug in.

* * *

_**Thank you for reading and sticking around, everyone! Should be able to work on this one a little more now that Life With Lilly's done. Now I'm just working on this and LWL: P2. Shouldn't be very long until new chapters are on both stories!**_


End file.
